Kilmarnock boss Tommy Wright hailed penalty hero Oli Shaw for keeping the coolest head inside Somerset last night.
The striker notched for the fourth game on the bounce as he buried a last-minute spot kick to settle a nervy Ayrshire derby.
And Wright insists he always backed his hitman to handle the pressure of stepping up in front of expectant travelling support in the dying seconds.
The boss said: "Shooting into our fans in the last minute of a derby, there was a lot of pressure on him.
"But ultimately I've brought him here to score goals and I had every faith he was going to convert it.
"It's a huge result for us and keeps up our great form away from home with another clean sheet.
"You always believe you can score a goal with the quality we've got and I was able to bring on Fraser Murray for young Danny [Armstrong] who's done excellently for us.
"We stuck an extra man in midfield and it worked well for us as we were able to controlled the ball well and retain possession."
Shaw struck at the death after Markus Fjortoft had clattered into Liam Polworth and ref Nick Walsh pointed to the spot.
Before then, Killie had enjoyed large spells of second half possession but had struggled to create many golden chances on a tense night at Somerset.
Polworth went close with a raking drive late on while Calum Waters drew a smart stop from Aidan McAdams as Killie's pressure mounted shortly before the spot kick.
Ayr's best moments came in the first half when Paddy Reading saw a header tipped over by Zach Hemming.
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